Nelson Mandela
To look through history, it is difficult to find a man with the endurance and drive as of a legend such as Julius Caesar. Even more difficult to find is a man whose integrity and deeds are comparable to the deeds of Nelson Rohihiala Mandela. Born 18 July 1918, to Nosekeni Fanny and Hendry Mphakanyiswa Gadla, chieftain of the Thembu branch of the Xhosa tribe, Mandela was exposed to the groundwork, which led to his fair and successful ruling, from birth (Hughes, 18.) Working with herding his family's cattle and goats from the age of five, Mandela's mother and father instilled good work ethics and substantial educational values. Though she could neither read nor write, Nosekei Fanny believed that the best life for her children could be arrived at through education (19.) For the reason, Nelson Mandela and his three sisters were sent to the mission school in Qunu. Because of this reason, Nelson Mandela was given the opportunity to become a learned man with the eloquence of speech to effectively lead a country out of racial turmoil.
After he completed his education at the mission school, Mandela continued his lessons both in and out of the classroom. In 1939, Mandela furthered his education by entering Fort Hare College in order to attain his Bachelor of Arts degree, a stepping-stone to his destined vocation (Benson, 20.) The following year he was expelled for leading a strike. Nelson Rohihiala Mandela, Rohihiala being his given birth name meaning "stirring up trouble," pushed forward for a law degree, a degree suitable for his obvious nature (21.) After his expulsion, he moved to Johannesburg; with this move, he started his studies at Witwatersrand University (Thompson, 261.) In 1941, Mandela obtained his law degree through correspondence at the University of South Africa (LaBlanc, 142.) Though he was working towards reform through law, the 1948 formation of the African National Congress Youth League, founded by Anton Lambede, gave Mandela another...